OF THE SENSES RECITAL
PERFORMANCE COSTUME FOR SOPRANO EYRA NORMANCustom beaded headpiece, scarf, and dress with engineered watercolour prints
Performed at the Royal College of Music, London
June 2021
An online collaboration between Malaysian-British soprano Eyra Norman and myself, drawing upon her personal artwork based on her synaesthesia (where sounds and music may neurally translate into colours or visual reactions) and the coming of summertime. The headpiece was inspired by Eyra’s Indian and Malaysian heritage as well as her childhood growing up in Hong Kong, pulling inspiration from Cantonese Operatic hairpieces, ancient Qing-dynasty Chinese kingfisher feather jewelry, and female performers of the past including the oft-bejewelled Elizabeth Taylor and dancer-turned-spy Mata Hari (research images below right).
This project was concieved and created while I was based in Hong Kong during the 2020 pandemic and Eyra was in London, with everything from concept to measurements conducted entirely online.
